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“Fun” might not be the first word that comes to mind when you think about walking 5K or more in a charity walk, but participants of these events can and should be having a great time while they walk. If you are planning a charity walk, consider these seven ideas to make your charity walk more fun.

Keep it festive

Some of the biggest fund raising walks provide live entertainment and other perks, spending thousands of dollars on DJs and bands. But you don’t have to spend a fortune to make an event more fun. Hiring a clown or two to paint faces and twist balloons is fun for kids and grownups alike, even if the adults are slow to admit it.

Provide food

Don’t send them away hungry! Host a nice meal at the end of the race. If you can’t afford to feed everyone, ask walkers to bring desserts and snacks to share for the end-of-race celebration.

Get great shirts

Most fun runs provide a T-shirt to each participant. It can be tempting to use a simple design to keep costs down, but adding an extra color or two really doesn’t add much to the cost per shirt. Come up with an awesome design and provide participant T-shirts that people will be proud to wear throughout the year. A bright, fun T-shirt design will not only help build excitement before and during the event, but will keep the event on their minds until next year.

Have people dress up

An alternative to providing event T-shirts is hosting a themed event where participants are encouraged to wear costumes. The Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis does this well. People dress up as angels, gingerbread men, and even Santa Claus. You can piggyback off a national holiday such as Christmas or Halloween or choose your own theme. Make sure you can tie your theme in with the cause you’re raising money for.

Make it a dog walk

What’s more fun than walking with friends and family? Walking with a pet! Charity dog walks are especially good if you’re raising money for an animal cause, such as the zoo or a local animal shelter.

Come up with a gimmick

Participants in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Light the Night Walk carry illuminated balloons to show their connection to leukemia and lymphoma. Survivors carry white balloons, and supporters carry red balloons. God balloons are carried in memory of loved ones who didn’t make it. Come up with something original for your own event that will make it memorable for those who participate.

Get the kids involved

A school fun run is a great way to raise money, whether it’s for the school or some other charity. As an added bonus, you’ll introduce kids to the experience of participating in charity walks and runs at an early age and get them excited about being a part of something bigger than themselves.

Use Your Imagination to Make Walks More Fun

The ideas listed above are just a start. Have a meeting with everyone involved in planning the event and take some time to brainstorm crazy ways to make your event more fun. You may be surprised at the number of great ideas you can come up with. Pick the ones you like and get ready to have a blast at your next charity fun run.

Author Bio: James Renault works with Schoolfunrun.com.au, a fundraiser that helped schools raise over $2.5 million last year.

Great article for “how to make charity walks fun” I honestly appreciate the all the valuable point of this discussion. I’m totally agree with “Get the kids involved” point its true the Get the kids involved totally change environment & all person more focus together.

Great post!! Almost everyone of us associate charity walks with some sense of seriousness, but these walks for a cause also possess a fun element. It is quite essential to showcase that fascinating aspect associated with such walks. The pointers mentioned in this post works in the direction of surfacing the fun element in the form of good tees, food or involvement of family, kids and pets. Thanks for the share.

I never understood the ‘fun’ in walking and running. Even if it is a festive event. I’m just one of those lazy people I guess. But interesting points, definitely going to keep this in mind for any charity event I come up with.

I love your tips! As for me, as long as I do the 7th tip, I will be more than happy to participate with the walk. Walking with my family during charity walks inspires me to go further. Most especially when my kids are obviously having fun. Thanks for sharing this blog!

Foods and laughters make the charity walks worth the sweat! Whether you are with family members or friends, it will always be nice when you feel comfortable and happy with who you are walking it. Thanks for making it clearer!

Charity walks are a lot fun if you do it with your family and you bring a pet if you have one. My family and I used to bring a camera to capture the moment and make the memories last. Thanks for sharing this with us!

To key to a good walk is planning. Remember people of all ages and fitness levels will hopefully be taking part, having refreshment stations ago the way to a good idea and places where people can sit for a while at certain points.